World's top robots battle it out in international competition

Dec. 21 - Humanoids from the United States, China, Japan and Korea compete in a ''robot olympics'' of sorts, aimed at testing their ability to handle disaster relief. Gavino Garay reports.

▲ Hide Transcript

▶ View Transcript

Robots battle it out in Miami in a fierce two-day "robot olympics" of sorts.
Top robot makers from around the world are showcasing their advanced humanoids in what is known as the DARPA Robotics Challenge.
A total of seventeen teams from the United States, China, Japan and Korea are participating in the two-day trials.
They're aimed at awarding the gold to the robot that bests deals with disaster response.
Organizers have put their robots through rigorous training in order to face the challenge.
NASA's Robonaut was part of the U.S. team, and team leaders - like Kimberly Hambuchen - were happy with the outcome.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) KIMBERLY HAMBUCHEN, TEAM LEADER FOR HUMANOID ROBOT INTERFACE, SAYING:
"We were able to create this humanoid robot that can go into places where humans can go. If humans can go there, this robot can go there and that's good for, not only this competition where we want to put the robot into a disaster response situation, but also for NASA, in general, because we send humans into outer space and we would like to be able to send robots that don't need any specialization."
The event is open to the public, and organizers hope audiences gain a new awareness of the current affairs surrounding robotics, and their interaction with humankind in the future.